As Veterans return to civilian life in New Hampshire and across the country, many are considering owning their own business as a viable means for providing for themselves and their families. Stepping up to support this trend are the Knowledge Institute, specialists in entrepreneurial education and virtual resource communities, and the Foundation for Entrepreneurial Research and Development (FERAD), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship. As a public/private collaboration, both organizations have joined forces to create VetBizGO, a new entrepreneurial education and resource community.
“Veterans are ideally suited to succeeding in business,” said, Dr. Deborah Osgood, President of the Knowledge Institute. “Whether inherent or nurtured, Veterans possess a willingness and ability to take calculated risks, as well as be resourceful, resilient and decisive under pressure – all key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.”
VetBizGO is a Virtual Business Accelerator that facilitates connections between Veterans and thousands of government and nonprofit public business assistance programs and educational resources tailored to supporting venture start-up, growth and success. Content is accessible at no cost and is cross-indexed by type of service, type of agency, geographical location, key word and alphabetical title making it easy for Veterans to learn about and connect with a real person in their local area that can help. Most all programs are free and focus on assisting individuals with core business issues such as legal formation, financing, planning, marketing, import/export and government contracting.
“This virtual community provides an important platform for assisting Veterans with attaining financial independence,” said Dr. William Osgood, Chairman of the Board of Directors for FERAD and also a Veteran. “VetBizGO offers the men and women of our military service a way to leverage their skills and abilities far more importantly than just getting a job – it provides an opportunity for them to build their future through self-employment and small business ownership.”
In addition to improving awareness and access to targeted entrepreneurial development programs, VetBizGO also helps to facilitate connections with established Veterans advocacy and networking venues. VET-Force, for example, is a nonprofit organization launched in 1999 that is dedicated to helping Veterans create and grow small businesses. As a coalition of over 200 veteran support organizations representing thousands of veterans nationally, VET-Force presents a strong unified Veteran’s voice advocating opportunities for veterans, particularly disabled veterans, seeking to succeed in small business and self-employment.
“We see VetBizGO as a critical resource for helping Veterans to develop, launch, grow and succeed in their own small businesses,” said Rick Weidman, Chairman of VET-Force,. “Helping Veterans in this way helps them to build their own employment security, add value to local economies, and contribute to the economic growth across America.”
To learn more about VetBizGO, visit www.vetbizgo.org.
Tags: Dr. Deborah Osgood, Dr. William Osgood, FERAD, Foundation for Entrepreneurial Research and Development, Knowledge Institute, Rick Weidman, VET-Force, VetBizGO, Veterans Business Resource Network, virtual business accelerator